Indonesia President Joko Widodo is set to make his first visit to Australia in more than three years,with nickel and palm oil on his agenda.
Central Java leader Ganjar Pranowo has been endorsed to succeed Joko Widodo as president by Indonesia’s biggest ruling party.
A flagship project of China’s global infrastructure drive,the Jakarta-to-Bandung high-speed rail has been plagued by delays and other problems.
As bulldozers and excavators zip back and forth,it’s not easy to picture a futuristic new presidential palace and seat of government emerging from the bare patch of dirt.
The former governor of Jakarta wants to be rid of the ghosts of his 2017 when he played the religious card.
Riding in the slipstream of Joko Widodo’s vast popularity,Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo tops opinion polls as Indonesia enters pre-election season.
Indonesia has long been grappling with the brutality of its past,most notably the mass killings of 1965-66,in which Australia was found to have been complicit.
A ban on sex outside marriage has taken the spotlight,but Indonesia’s new criminal code also reflects a growing crackdown on dissent and democratic regression.
Our government must encourage Indonesia to uphold human rights and democracy. But it has to balance that against respect for its independence and increasing power.
The Chinese president did his best to project power and stability in leaders’ summits this week,but in the end had to contend with a few contrarians.
The prime minister might have boycotted the G20 to snub Vladimir Putin;instead,it was the stage for his historic meeting with Xi Jinping.